J wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 20:22:I'm making an exception for Human Revolution based upon my experiences of it so far. It's my way of saying "Great job! More of this, please."

And if, heaven forbid, the final game turns out to be ultimately disappointing, they'll be very happy you did.

Do publishers really consider pre-order numbers post release when deciding to green light a follow-up? Surely all that matters is final sales.

You need to lighten up, Francis. What happened, did you get burned by previous pre-orders? It's like you have a vendetta about pre-orders.

Let go. Move on.

Whatever Louis, I've never pre-ordered a game. I just find the practice baffling and think it encourages lazy development. Although not so much in this case as it hasn't got much of a name to trade on for most people, especially after the last one.

I know I'm a few days late to the party, but had a thought about this...

For most consumers (my statistics are based on me standing up while talking out of my ass), they buy a product without doing a lot of research... Either before it hits shelves or after, that effort remains similar... So assuming this is mostly true, you could argue that pre-order sales mean nothing : )

Or at least, those that argue that pre-ordering is stupid (myself included; I rarely do it), might be forgetting about how many post-orders are made with just as little 'hard' information.

J wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 20:22:I'm making an exception for Human Revolution based upon my experiences of it so far. It's my way of saying "Great job! More of this, please."

And if, heaven forbid, the final game turns out to be ultimately disappointing, they'll be very happy you did.

Do publishers really consider pre-order numbers post release when deciding to green light a follow-up? Surely all that matters is final sales.

You need to lighten up, Francis. What happened, did you get burned by previous pre-orders? It's like you have a vendetta about pre-orders.

Let go. Move on.

Whatever Louis, I've never pre-ordered a game. I just find the practice baffling and think it encourages lazy development. Although not so much in this case as it hasn't got much of a name to trade on for most people, especially after the last one.

Lucky for them it got out though, because most of the people that played it seem to feel the same way.

I think, without the leak, a lot of people (myself included) wouldn't have touched the game without a number of good reviews. That leak is the best piece of advertising so far, and it's silly someone had to do it for them.

J wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 20:22:I'm making an exception for Human Revolution based upon my experiences of it so far. It's my way of saying "Great job! More of this, please."

And if, heaven forbid, the final game turns out to be ultimately disappointing, they'll be very happy you did.

Do publishers really consider pre-order numbers post release when deciding to green light a follow-up? Surely all that matters is final sales.

The game was what, two months from being finished when the demo was leaked? I don't see them making any radical changes in that time, and from what I played, the game is very much in the same vein as the original. If it hadn't been for that leaked version, I wouldn't have pre-ordered. Lucky for them it got out though, because most of the people that played it seem to feel the same way.

I didn't pre-order from Steam though, so I didn't get counted in these numbers.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)

Bumpy wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 12:20:This is the same AI as HL2. They run to the sides, they go to cover, they flank, they grenade you out, they crouch, what else do people want? I don't remember rash of complaints about the AI in HL2?

In my experience they do very little of this, they mostly just run at you and shoot.

Bumpy wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 12:20:This is the same AI as HL2. They run to the sides, they go to cover, they flank, they grenade you out, they crouch, what else do people want? I don't remember rash of complaints about the AI in HL2?

Actually one of the frequent lamentations about HL2 is how its AI compares to the more scripted but better implemented AI in HL1.

DX:HR on the other hand reeks of consolitis. The leaked version didn't leave me with much hope for a decent FPSRPG.

From what I played, the leaked press build offered very open-ended gameplay that let you play the role you wanted to play. You could even ghost your way through the first level. How does this not equate to a decent FPSRPG?

Meh, it just felt like one room after another. Go this path if you want to fight, go that path behind those crates if you want to stealth. I want real open-ended level design as well, i.e. Liberty Island, Hong Kong, naval base, submarine base and Vandenberg etc from Deus Ex. I guess the game could contain such levels later and just wanted a newbie-friendly railway-ish introduction, but the first few levels left much to be desired. The cover system even made stealthing overall pretty disappointing and unsatisfying.

Wowbagger_TIP wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 12:05:I have to agree with those who weren't impressed with EYE. After a few hours with it, it still seemed very shallow. The AI seems incapable of doing much more than just charging at you with guns blazing. The guns have a pretty good feel to them, but it's just a repetitive grind really. Feels like an alpha version of what could be a good mod if they tightened things up and made the gameplay more interesting.

This is the same AI as HL2. They run to the sides, they go to cover, they flank, they grenade you out, they crouch, what else do people want? I don't remember rash of complaints about the AI in HL2?

DX:HR on the other hand reeks of consolitis. The leaked version didn't leave me with much hope for a decent FPSRPG.

From what I played, the leaked press build offered very open-ended gameplay that let you play the role you wanted to play. You could even ghost your way through the first level. How does this not equate to a decent FPSRPG?

I have to agree with those who weren't impressed with EYE. After a few hours with it, it still seemed very shallow. The AI seems incapable of doing much more than just charging at you with guns blazing. The guns have a pretty good feel to them, but it's just a repetitive grind really. Feels like an alpha version of what could be a good mod if they tightened things up and made the gameplay more interesting.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)

Bumpy wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 10:42:Don't be thick. It's similar to a pirate finishing a game then saying it sucks. If it was that bad I'm pretty sure most people would never get close to 24hours of playing it.

Edit: not saying he's a pirate btw.

Your rationale is very flawed and "thick" itself. Some people just like to get their moneys worth out of something and some people don't form opinions until they've played a significant amount of a product.

EYE is pretty refreshing in this day and age of streamlined casual crap. A more hardcore version of Borderlands meets System Shock. I'd suggest to wait for the patch to arrive though, it's supposed to fix a large amount of bugs.

DX:HR on the other hand reeks of consolitis. The leaked version didn't leave me with much hope for a decent FPSRPG.

Well guess what, check my Steam stats because I played 27.2 hours of EYE. And I'm saying EYE sucks. I wanted to like it but too often the game shows its colors in rampant bugs and in a general feel of being a half-cooked mod.

Why did I play it for that long? Because like I said I am a sucker for grinding, I spent $18 on it, and there's absolutely nothing else to play.

J wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 04:14:Also remember with DX:HR that many were burnt by the consolitis-infested plaguebearer Invisible War. They may not be so keen to jump in with both feet but wait until the buzz hits them via word of mouth....

Rhino wrote on Aug 8, 2011, 10:26:So what's the sweet spot where they have played the game sufficiently to satisfy you that they are able to make an opinion based upon what they have played, to where they have played to TOO thoroughly so as to render their opinion invalid?

Don't be thick. It's similar to a pirate finishing a game then saying it sucks. If it was that bad I'm pretty sure most people would never get close to 24hours of playing it.